don’t necessarily need to upgrade. We heard a rumor that they just got a new digital projector, though. And if they did, it’s game on.”
“Wait.” Her smile disappeared. “How can you tell if it’s a digital projector?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. We’ll probably have to break in to the projection booth.”
“I don’t know if we should do that.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll only do it if we won’t get caught.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“I have a sense about these things.” I winked at her. “Trust me.”
She twisted her hands in her lap. “This makes me very nervous. I was with Ginny when you texted and she kind of talked me into coming.”
“High five, Ginny. You can stay outside if you want, but you don’t have to worry. I won’t let anything bad happen.”
She glanced at me again, clearly not convinced.
“What’s the worst that could happen to us?” I asked.
“We get arrested for trespassing and my divorced parents who are currently living together get in an enormous fight over who’s going to come bail me out of jail and then I have to live with the fallout because the thing that made them snap was me?”
“That’s… kind of specific. Are your parents fighting a lot?”
“Not exactly. They’re mostly picking at each other and sometimes things get tense. But I keep wondering when they’re going to blow up.”
“How long do you think your mom will be living there?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t said anything specific to me, but I assume she and my dad have talked about it. She’s looking for a job, which makes me think she wants to stay in Tilikum.”
“That’s pretty cool. You could have both your parents close.”
“Yeah, it would be. Although right now, I’m wondering if this town is big enough for both of them.”
“Well they are living under the same roof. That’s gotta be tense.”
“So tense. I know I’m overly sensitive to… well, everything. But I feel like the entire house is charged with electricity. I’m surprised my hair isn’t standing on end.”
I opened my mouth to tell her she could always come hang out at my house if things were getting a little too real at home. But I figured I’d steer clear of that topic for now. Too soon.
I turned onto Icicle Road, but took another immediate right onto a narrow dirt road and pulled over. “We’ll park here and walk through the trees. Someone might recognize my truck if I get too close, and the walk isn’t bad.”
She nibbled on her fingernail. “You’re sure we won’t get caught?”
I hesitated for a second, thinking about it, and slowly nodded. “I’m about ninety-percent sure.”
“I guess those are pretty good odds.”
“Really good.”
“What would it take for you to not go? Like if you thought it was only fifty-fifty, would you still do it?”
“Fifty-fifty? Yeah, easy. Although maybe not with a broken leg. I’d want to be fully mobile in case I had to make a run for it.”
“Make a run for it? That’s not helping my anxiety.”
I reached over and took her hand. “Sky, you’ve got this. We’re just going to go take a look around. Besides, you did hit me with your car. You kinda owe me.”
She smacked my arm. “That’s so not fair.”
“I know, I’m terrible,” I said with a grin. “How about you think of this as book research.”
“But I’m not writing about anyone breaking into a drive-in theater.”
“Do you write about people breaking in to other places?”
“Well… yeah.”
“Now you’ll have firsthand experience.”
Our eyes locked and a surge of heat swept through me. God, she was hot. The memory of her lips was still seared into my skin. That pretty little mouth had been on my neck, whispering in my ear. I’d only gotten a taste of her and fuck it had been good.
Too good.
Maybe too good to resist.
I wasn’t sure whether I was going to win or lose this battle, or what winning or losing even meant. Because right now, the only thing I could think about was what Skylar sounded like when she was coming, and I wanted to make her do it again.
Bad idea, Gav. Don’t steal another cookie.
“We should get moving,” I said, finally. “We need to get in and out before the movie ends.”
Skylar nodded, but I didn’t miss the blush that hit her cheeks.
I loved a challenge, but holding myself back from her was turning out to be some masochistic shit.
A couple of slow breaths of cold night air helped clear my head. I put on a baseball